Stan Lee will join Batman producer Michael Uslan for a free online course that explores the history of comic books and superheroes.

Offered by edX and the Smithsonian Institution, “The Rise of Superheroes and Their Impact On Pop Culture” examines the factors that led to the Golden Age of comics, the ebb and flow of the genre, the scares of the 1950s, the acceptance of comic books as an artform, and the current popularity of superheroes in television, film and video games.

North American manga publisher Seven Seas Entertainment has launched a tabletop games division, Seven Seas Games.

Although there are few details in the initial announcement, the company states it will “meld the anime aesthetic with strategic card and board games, introducing fans to a whole new way of experiencing their favorite titles.” The first game and Kickstarter campaign will be revealed Wednesday at 10 a.m. PT.

As anyone who’s ever worked at a newspaper can attest, readers don’t react well to changes to the comics section, which is a major reason why so many strips trudge on, zombie-like, long after the spark of life left them. So when financial or space constraints force editors to eliminate some old favorites, they expect complaints — although not necessarily a profanity-laced tirade from an 8-year-old.

Less than a week after debuting the new Hulk, Hot Toys has revealed details of its 1/6th-scale Avengers: Age of Ultron Hulkbuster collectible figure.

Heralded at Toy Soul 2014 with a 10-foot statue, the movie-accurate figure stands nearly 21 inches tall, and features a Mark XLIII bust inside the Hulkbuster, with LED light-up eyes and arc reactor on the chest. The metallic red, gold and silver armor has a weathering effect, and more than 16 LED light-up areas located in the eyes, chest, repulsor palms, back and legs.

As readers and viewers of The Walking Dead well know, secluded farms, penitentiaries and gated communities will only protect you for so long from the undead hordes shambling across the post-apocalyptic landscape. But short of plunking down $113,000 for a zombie-proof log cabin, what’s a person to do?

You’re undoubtedly familiar with the story by now: A wealthy, charismatic young entrepreneur with control issues, a secret room and a penchant for fetish gear and wonderful toys meets a young woman, and then things get weird — or weirder, at least. In Gotham, everything’s relative.

It actually hadn’t dawned on me how similar, at least in broad terms, Bruce Wayne is to Christian Grey until I saw Josh Meeter’s Batman/Fifty Shades of Grey mashup trailer “Fifty Shades of Bruce Wayne,” which, depending on how things go, could very well be the direction Warner Bros. takes the Dark Knight. Hey, stranger things have happened (cue footage from 1997’s Batman & Robin).

Entertainment Earth is accepting preorders for a dancing Baby Groot solar-powered bobble head that not only wiggles his little body but never requires batteries. Alas, it’s not accompanied by the sounds of the Jackson 5, so you’ll have to hum the tune yourself:

While there are undoubtedly some fans willing to argue about who would win in a fight between the god of thunder and the Sentinel of Liberty (no contest!), there’s little debating how amazing this Thor-versus-Captain America cosplay photo shoot is.

Photographed by Adrian Gibbs, the series stars Sharon Rose as Captain America and Kayley Marie as Thor, who stand ready for a clash of uru and vibranium. The details on both costumes are incredible, but I particularly like Cap’s shield.

With wins in three categories, including Best Ongoing Title and Best Writer, Rachel Rising creator Terry Moore led the 2014 Ghastly Awards, which recognize outstanding achievement in horror comics.

Established in 2011, the awards are named in honor of “Ghastly” Graham Ingels, the late illustrator best remembered for his work on such EC Comics titles as The Haunt of Fear and Tales from the Crypt. Creators may submit their own work for consideration by the judges, who then choose the nominees in each of the 15 categories.

Manga | Here’s an interesting insight into the Japanese publishing industry: Deb Aoki, in Tokyo as a judge for the Manga Translation Battle, collects a series of her tweets and the responses of others (including a number of pros) to the symposium that followed the awards reception. The juxtaposition of two charts is startling: Manga sales are sharply down in Japan but rising in the United States, although of course the orders of magnitude are different. In keeping with the theme, she also discusses what makes a “good” translation, with actual manga translators weighing in with their opinions. [Storify]

After losing one lawsuit after another in its eight-year battle for many of Marvel’s most famous characters, Stan Lee Media is looking to the U.S. Supreme Court for a reversal of fortune.

In a filing made public Friday, and first reported by Law360, the failed dot-com asked the justices to revive its lawsuit against co-founder and namesake Stan Lee, arguing the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals erred in its October dismissal.

While the aforementioned announcement isn’t slated to arrive until Thursday, Downey took to social media again today to promote his and Marvel Studios’ involvement in a promotion for Julia’s House, a children’s hospice charity.

When it came time to debut the first single from their first studio album in 18 years, Faith No More chose an unlikely venue, Marvel.com. However, once you consider the song’s title, “Superhero,” and bassist Bill Gould’s love for Jack Kirby and the Silver Surfer, it makes perfect sense.